My 91 came with a momentary switch installed in the dash that is for the starter. Works quite nicely. I have not looked at where the wires are connected, but I do know it is not connected to either the solenoid or starter since I have replaced both along with all positive/grounds/charging wires with 0/1AWG pre-made wires from the parts store....

 

NOT both sides of the solenoid...fused wire to positive battery terminal to pushbutton and then from pushbutton to center post(little one) on the solenoid. The fuse will blow if the soleniod sticks(which they do quite often due to crappy connections) thereby saving you from trying to disconnect the battery cable while the starter grinds all its teeth off on a running engine...lmao...hapened to me once or twice.

 

I had a bad solenoid and just used jumper cables hooked them to the positive and negative of my battery negative to the bolt that holds the starter on the engine and the other to the post on the back of my starter. She started right up.

 

If you start the engine with a screwdriver across the solenoid and the key doesn't work how are you turning it off?

 

look at the tittle of the threadlol

 

This is assuming that the ignition key works as far as powering the fuel circuit and ignition system. What breaks in the column is the actual cam that pushes the rod into the ignition switch on the top of the collumn(see pics above...) It's a PITA to get to so this is a quick n' dirty fix until you feel like pulling the steering wheel and tearing down the column. I ran my 90 for over two years with this fix and never had a problem..a sticking solenoid is almost always due to resistance in the main connections as it will overheat the solenoid and the plunger inside will expand and stick in the start position.

 

Fix it. Actuators arms are less than $15 and made of cheap cast metal. After you've done it once you'll have no problem fixing it the next time it breaks. Plenty of videos on youtube showing step by step procedures. Special tools are available at your local PS for rental. You can do this sitting on the bench seat.

R

 

LOL

Correct...Mine went out in dead of winter and I had no garage so I opted for the 20 min bypass rather than the column joyride.

 

key just wont crank the truck over does work to turn power on and off

 

That was my question. It doesn't seem like your actuator rod is broken if it can turn the vehicle on and off. It sounds more like it is out of alignment. If the rod or actuator were broken you shouldn't be able to turn the power or accessories on or off.